Benefits
Corrects fatty-acid imbalances
Supports moisture retention
Calms reactive, irritation-prone skin
Contributes phytosterols for skin health
Suited to leave-on formulations
Best For
Reactive or irritation-prone skin
Dry skin with compromised barrier
Skin prone to redness
Menopausal skin
What Is Borage Oil?
Borage oil is extracted from the seeds of Borago officinalis, a Boraginaceae plant native to North Africa and the Mediterranean and now naturalised across Europe and North America.
Its seed oil contains a broad spread of fatty acids, including palmitic, oleic and linoleic acid, but its defining feature is a notably high share of gamma-linolenic acid, an omega-6 fat found in only a handful of other plant oils, such as evening primrose and black currant seed oil.
How It Works
Borage oil's role in skin health centres on its fatty acid profile. Gamma-linolenic acid helps address essential fatty acid deficiencies at the skin barrier, supports the barrier's ability to hold onto moisture, and is associated with reduced inflammatory signalling.
Once absorbed, GLA is converted and stored in skin and immune cells, feeding into the same pathway that produces the body's inflammatory and anti-inflammatory signalling molecules. Borage oil also contains phytosterols, which contribute additional support to overall skin health.
Borage oil is generally considered to carry two to three times more GLA than evening primrose oil, which is part of why it's often the preferred GLA source in formulation.
Why Formulation Matters
The borage plant naturally contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, compounds that can be toxic to the liver, and trace amounts can carry over into the seed oil during extraction, so sourcing oil that's verified low in these compounds is important.
Nourish London's certified organic borage seed oil is pressed exclusively from the seeds of the Borago officinalis plant rather than the green aerial parts, meaning it naturally contains far lower levels of the hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids concentrated in borage's leaves and stems, and conforms to EU legislation in terms of composition (Moore et al., 2020).
Scientific Notes
A review of the available trials on borage oil for atopic dermatitis looked at 12 studies, 11 oral and 1 topical, and found the results were inconsistent: 5 showed a clear benefit, 5 showed no effect, and 2 were mixed, while a separate trial giving borage oil to at-risk newborns did not prevent atopic dermatitis from developing (Foster et al., 2010). Topical use of borage oil and related GLA-rich oils has been associated with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on skin, including a reduction in water loss through the skin's surface.
Declining oestrogen during menopause is associated with reduced ceramide production and a weakened skin barrier, which may make barrier-supportive ingredients such as borage oil particularly relevant for menopausal skin (Kendall et al., 2022).
